Rudi Carrell (19 December 1934 – 7 July 2006), born Rudolf Wijbrand Kesselaar, was a Dutch entertainer, born in Alkmaar. Along with famous entertainers such as Johannes Heesters and Linda de Mol, Carrell was one of the most successful Dutch personalities active in Germany.[1]

The "Rudi Carrell Show" was a huge success in Germany from the 1960s to the 1990s. The show included a similar concept to "Star Search" or "Pop Idol" and brought many well-known German pop stars and actors to prominence, such as Alexis or Mark Keller. It also featured comedy sketches.

His show was also pretty popular in some other European non-German speaking countries like Slovenia.

In between he hosted other popular shows, including "Am laufenden Band", "Rudis Tagesshow", "Herzblatt", "Die verflixte Sieben" and "7 Tage, 7 Köpfe".

In 1987, he famously caused a diplomatic rift between Germany and Iran with a sketch in which veiled women threw their undergarments at someone dressed like Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The Iranian government responded by expelling two German diplomats and permanently closing the Goethe Institute in Tehran.[2]

Another controversial sketch used clever editing to show the then ChancellorHelmut Kohl and other prominent German politicians apparently consorting with prostitutes.